Gainesville Police Officer Steps Down Because of Internal Investigation

Published February 26th, 2008

He's supposed to make sure at-risk teens don't fall into a life of crime, but now a Gainesville police officer is under an internal investigation over a possible criminal act, and this isn't the first time his actions have been reviewed.

Officer Robert King worked at the Reichert House, but resigned on Friday after learning he is the subject of an internal investigation.

Because the investigation is ongoing, police department administrators legally cannot discuss the case or even confirm that King is the one they are looking at.

But reliable sources within the department tell WCJB that King is the one in question, and an internal memo sent by Police Chief Norman Botsford to city commissioners on Tuesday confirms it's over the misuse of a city fuel card.

"I can only confirm that an internal investigation has been started by our Internal Affairs Unit, and by state statute, I am not allowed to discuss the investigation in anyway," said police department spokesperson Lt. Keith Kameg.

Police department internal affairs records show King has been the subject of 14 investigations since December 2001, including four that are classified as major investigations.